How do you clean your carpets or floormats?

[imported_Aurora40]

Actually, I'm more interested in tricks you all use on mats since they can be removed and thus more tricks can be used.



I decided to wash my floormats today. I was surprised how dirty they were after almost a year and a half. I vacuum them often and get up spots when they occur. Anyway, I decided to use Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner Plus in an 8:1 dilution. I took the mats out onto the balcony, sprayed them down liberally with APC+, and then took the scrub brush to them. The APC+ wasn't foaming up as much as I wanted, so I unscrewed the bottle and poured it on them. This helped a lot in cleaning them. Then, I took the hose and tried to hose out all the dirt and APC+. The amount of dirt that came out was crazy! But the APC+ never got fully out. I brushed out the excess water, hosed, brushed, hosed... and every time I'd hose it (with a nozzle and a flat spray) it would foam up again. I think pouring the APC+ was the problem. After hosing them down as many times as I was going to, I brushed out the excess water and then ran over them with the shop vac. I think using the water really helped remove the dirt and APC+.



Ordinarily I've just APC+ed stuff, brushed it, then shop-vac'd it. But it seems like this would leave a fair amount of dirt/APC+ behind.



For removable mats, I wonder which would get out more dirt? A cheap pressure washer, or a cheap (like a Green Machine) deep cleaner? I'd think maybe the pressure washer would have really gotten everything out. But a deep cleaner like the little green clean machine would be more versatile for using on non-removable stuff.



My mats look much much better, but I was just curious if anyone else had any interesting ways of cleaning their carpets.

 

[aljo]

For removable mats, I wonder which would get out more dirt? A cheap pressure washer, or a cheap (like a Green Machine) deep cleaner? I'd think maybe the pressure washer would have really gotten everything out. But a deep cleaner like the little green clean machine would be more versatile for using on non-removable stuff.

I use a combination of both. I take my removable carpet mats out in the summer, take the to the spray bay, and hang them on those spring loaded plier devices. Then I give them a good spraying. Take them home, soak em in the sun. And then I deep clean with the Little Green. I'm sure I can skip the little green, but I like the smell of the soap.



I also use the little green to clean my carpet in my car. And the only draw back of it is that it takes forever to dry the carpets after. It takes me a good 3 days for it to be totally dry.

 

[CharlesW]

In the winter, I just spray on some APC+, brush it thoroughly, let it dry and vacuum the mats. I do remove them to do this.

In the summer, I will periodically remove the mats and wash them with a Dawn & water solution with a brush. After rinsing with a hose, (takes a lot to get most of the soap out), I let them air dry and put them back in the vehicle. In between, I use the same procedure that I follow in the winter.



Charles